Feature
Pachauri steps down as IPCC chief, takes leave from TERI
New Delhi/Nairobi: Environmentalist R.K. Pachauri Tuesday stepped down as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) following charges of sexual harassment. Pachauri has denied the accusation.
Pachauri, who is also the director-general of New Delhi-based environment think-tank The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), has taken “leave” from the post.
In his resignation letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, he stated his inability to continue as the IPCC chair on the grounds that the international climate change body needed “strong leadership and dedication of time” that he was unable to commit to “under the circumstances… as shown by my inability to travel to Nairobi to chair the plenary session of the panel this week”.
“I have, therefore, taken the decision to step down from my position,” he said.
The bureau of the UN’s IPCC agreed Tuesday to designate Vice-Chair Ismail El Gizouli as acting chair, a press release said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, TERI, in a statement, said he has also proceeded “on leave for the time being” and adequate internal arrangements have been ensured for smooth operations in his absence.
The 74-year-old Padma Bhushan awardee is facing a complaint of alleged harassment by a woman research analyst who has also lodged a police case.
Citing several texts, emails, and WhatsApp messages as evidence to prove the claim of sexual harassment, the complainant accused the scientist of harassing her soon after she joined the TERI in September 2013.
However, Pachauri’s counsel refuted the accusations saying his client’s computer and phone were “hacked”.
Following the sexual harassment charges, Pachauri had already announced last week that he would skip one of the IPCC sessions in Nairobi due to “issues demanding his attention” in India.
His move from the IPCC assumes great significance at a time when India is being looked up to for leading the global negotiations at UN climate change conference in Paris in December.
Paris 2015 will serve as a global platform where world leaders would converge to hammer out a universal framework to roll back carbon emissions after 2020. The new framework would replace the current Kyoto protocol.
Pachauri, as the IPCC chair, was expected to play a prominent role in all the key negotiations in the run up to Paris 2015.
In 2007, the IPCC was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice president Al Gore for their part in galvanizing international action against climate change.
Pachauri was elected to the first of two terms as chair of the IPCC in April 2002 and had been scheduled to complete his second term in October, said the IPCC statement.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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